Seasonal variations in the size distribution of elements and ions in the Po Valley

The study of the size distribution of the PM and its components constitutes an extremely valuable support for the characterization of the emission sources and for the study of aging phenomena of the dusts. This paper discusses the results obtained during winter or summer monitoring campaigns carried out over the period 2008-2014 in the industrial area of Ferrara. Samples, collected by a 10 stage impactor, were analysed by an analytical procedure that [allows the determination of inorganic ions (NO3 , SO4 = , Na + , NH4 + , K + , Mg ++ , Ca ++ ) and of two solubility fractions of the elements (As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Ti, Tl, V, Zn) [1]. This procedure allows an increase of the selectivity of elements as source tracers [2].